Richard Williamson's Nature Notes
Here is a picture of a yellow-necked mouse. It is quite a rare animal in the UK, but it lives in my house, my garage, and my car and possibly yours too if you live in a wood in the south of England.
Apodemis flavicollis is different to its close cousin, the field mouse or long-tailed woodmouse. (A sylvaticus). It is bigger, prettier, more glossy, rufous above and white below. It has a continious rufous collar under its chin.The wood mouse has only a spot of rufous. It has lovely shiny eyes.
It is a shame to have to kill it. But kill it I must. Under my floorboards I have set my trap. Because there I discovered yards and yards of electric cable stripped of its plastic sheath. Every time I turned on the bedside light I could have set fire to the house.
For full feature see West Sussex Gazette, November 29